A vision statement for your practice is sometimes called a picture of your practice in the future but it’s so much more than that. Your vision statement is your inspiration, the framework for all your strategic planning.

What you are doing when creating a vision statement is articulating your dreams and hopes for your practice. It reminds you of what you are trying to build.

A vision statement applies to the whole practice. The vision statement answers the question, “Where do we want to go?”

Don’t confuse a vision statement with a road map; it’s not. What Bill Gates envisioned when he first started Microsoft was a personal computer in every home and business, not a series of steps for making that happen.

That’s why it’s important when crafting a vision statement for your practice is to let your imagination go and dare to dream – and why it’s important that a vision statement captures your passion.

Why Having a Vision Statement is So Important for Your Practice

But while a vision statement doesn’t tell you how you’re going to get there, it does set the direction for your practice planning. That makes crafting a vision statement especially compelling practices because practices fail because they do not plan.

How Does a Vision Statement Differ From a Mission Statement?

Unlike the mission statement , a vision statement is for you and the other members of your practice team, not for your patients.

When writing a vision statement for your practice, your mission statement and your core competencies can be a valuable starting point for articulating your values. Be sure when you’re creating one not to fall into the trap of only thinking ahead a year or two. Once you have one, your vision statement will have a huge influence on decision making and the way you allocate resources.

Then learn how to use your vision statement to create an action plan for your practice that will help you make the vision you have of your practice a reality.